By Peter Collington, Knopf (ages 8...

Peter Collington is a master of wordless picture books, and the 96 pictures here convey the narrative clearly. A starving old woman sells her last possession, an accordion, but is robbed of her cash by a thief who also vandalizes the creche at the village church. After using her waning strength to restore the creche, she faints, and then is rescued and cared for by the manger figures come to life. The scene of the three kings pushing what is for them a gigantic shopping cart through a supermarket to buy food for the old woman is brilliantly done, raising a chuckle at the same time it reminds readers that doing good sometimes requires a herculean effort, even for the best of us.

When the story begins, Simon and his mother live in a cardboard box. Simon, however, doesn't call it that, and the distinction is important. Little as they have, they have maintained a sense of dignity and the ability to share with those who have less. When an elderly woman asks to share their shelter on Christmas Eve, Simon, though not without some inner sorrow, can even manage to give her one of the two Christmas cookies that are their only celebratory food. Was she an angel? Was it just that their luck turned when they found a tiny apartment in the projects the next year, or an angel's reward? Eve Bunting's tone keeps the story from being maudlin, and the warm, loving curves of the human bodies in David Diaz's splendid collages emphasize the difference that charitable humanity makes even in the most meager settings.

Sheldon Oberman makes this book distinctive by telling the story of three Hanukkahs at the same time. In the midst of Rachel's warm family celebration, Grandfather tells of the ancient Maccabees and the miraculous oil that burned for eight days. He also tells the story of his childhood Hannukahs, 60 years ago in Europe, at a time when sharing the joy and light was difficult and dangerous. The Holocaust is evoked, without being named. Grandfather's rediscovery of his family's Hanukkah candleholder may seem a bit contrived, but then the season is about miracles, isn't it? Neil Waldman's pastel illustrations are suffused by light, representing a world where darkness encroaches but is defeated by light and love.

ANGEL PIG & THE HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

By Jan L. Waldron, illustrations by David McPhail,

Dutton (ages 4 to 8), $14.99

A household of piggies has shined up the homestead and heads out to buy gifts, but, as expected, the porkers learn that the "best Christmas of all" doesn't require store-bought presents. Their turnaround comes after the appearance of an Angel Pig, a figure-in medieval embroidered overcoat on top of a jumpsuit and sneakers-that is illustrator David McPhail's most brilliant of the book.